Hopefully, many readers took notice of John Canzano's excellent column in The Sunday Oregonian ("Gap in resources glaring in London," Aug. 5). It reports the important, but not often discussed, fact revealed through the stories of many Olympic athletes of the huge disparities between the economically prosperous nations and the rest of the world.

Our hearts and cheers go to athletes like Dana Abdul Razak of Iraq, those who train hard without corporate sponsorships and financial contracts, high-paid personal trainers, Olympic handlers, expensive state-of-the-art gear and the freedom to have an extensive training schedule devoid of other responsibilities.

It is for the athletes such as Razak that we are compelled to watch these games. In my mind, they are the gold medalists.

MAXINE FOOKSON Southeast Portland

Watching Olympic athletes compete in London is nothing short of spectacular. The unity of Americans supporting our competitors is a refreshing departure from the current political divisiveness in Washington, D.C., particularly Congress. If elected office were an Olympic event, not only would we fail to medal, but we would be the embarrassment of the games.

Whatever our individual political convictions, be they left, right or center, let us be astute with the power of our vote. Maybe the "athlete" candidate has many years of experience, but as he or she ages, success is harder and less obtainable, the same as in the Olympics. We must cheer "Team USA" at the ballot box if we are ever to have a chance to become a strong and a united nation again.

As we pump our fists and scream "Go!" at the televised Olympic Games, think about it in the context of our political candidates. Send the best.

RIDGE TAYLOR Lake Oswego

Regarding John Canzano's column "Dream Team's a nightmare for sportsmanship" (Aug. 4), involving the rout of the Nigerian basketball team by the U.S.: I think the Olympic games have evolved into nothing but a sham for international sports. It has become a mega-business venture, with exclusive coverage by NBC, the presence of professional players in many of the sports venues, exorbitant expenditures in hosting the games, etc.

I think the Olympics should go back to how it was many years ago when the games were restricted to amateur players only. The International Olympic Committee must also set some ground rules as to how far the hosting country has to prepare for the games, instead of trying to outdo the previous host.

To some extent, the United States is responsible for taking the games to where they are now.

AL ARBOLEDA Northeast Portland

Reforming state taxes

Regarding the editorial "Oregon's weird tax system" (Aug. 6): I agree that Oregon's tax structure is in need of restructuring, as recommended by the 1998 report referenced. And another blue-ribbon commission issued a report with similar recommendations in 2009. This isn't rocket science. The problems and options are well-known.

However, the politics haven't changed. In fact, they are worse. How do you change that paradigm? Well, another hot-button issue is PERS. Democratic officials could offer to further PERS reforms in exchange for tax reform that would bring stable funding to schools and assure programs for the needy. Republican officials could seize the opportunity to make needed tax reforms, citing a win on the PERS issue.

There is room for reasonable compromise that calms the concerns of Republicans who feel that any tax reform will only go to "overcompensated" public employees and those of Democrats who desire stable government revenue that honors the efforts of public employees.

But both revenue and spending need to be on the table.

ROBERT HARRIS Hillsboro Harris is an attorney at Harris Law Firm.

An answer on housing

Cheers to Peter Buckley ("Once again: Why not help people keep their homes?" Commentary, Aug. 6) and Paul Krugman ("Lay the blame where it belongs," Aug. 4) for again raising the thorny issue of our government possibly helping millions of responsible U.S. citizens hold onto their homes and mortgages.

Those of us unthreatened by the housing debacle look the other way, past our own Sen. Jeff Merkley's credible, intelligent loan proposal and past the outrageous behavior of civil servant Edward DeMarco, who refuses to move on refinancing. Meanwhile, the housing situation creates a specter of greedy bankers and depresses our economy through low consumer spending. All of us are affected by this. So, again: "Why not help people keep their homes?"

Can't we all agree on a plan like Merkley's, which would ultimately boost our economy? His plan should be implemented now.

DONNA MURPHY Northeast Portland

Alcohol and poverty

The headline on the front page of the Aug. 3 paper was "Oregon's liquor profits jump 9 percent"; an article on the Metro section front page was "Oregon kids slide deeper into poverty." Can these two accounts be related?

What with society's dependence on alcohol, it is not surprising that social problems such as poverty continue to grow.